Sony Teases A Virtual Couch Mode For PS4 Multiplayer – Even If Your Friend Doesn’t Own The Game

Sony announced some features of its upcoming system software 2.0 for PlayStation 4 update, and one of those called Share Play is definitely something to get excited about for console owners – especially those interested in trying out games without paying up for them, or in playing with friends with vastly different software libraries.

The Share Play features include two new remote multiplayer modes, both of which give players the chance to experience playing with friends despite not actually owning their friends’ games. Pass The Controller lets two players alternate turns on a game, as if they’re sitting next to each other on a couch – passing the controller back and forth – in the same room.

Play Together offers a similar experience, but allows users to actually play together in real-time head-to-head, instead of sequentially. This means you can play fighters or have collaborative gameplay without one of the people involved actually owning the game. This is literally game changing. It greatly lowers the cost of entry for having great multiplayer experiences, and hopefully it gets picked up by a number of developers.

Sony mentions NBA2K, Towerfall and Child of Light in its official announcement of the feature, but it isn’t yet clear how far-reaching into the catalogue it’ll go. System software update 2.0 for PS4 is scheduled to ship this fall, and also includes YouTube app support for sharing and more.